Mr. Speaker, we are very concerned that children be treated equally and fairly.

The budget did not dramatically cut CAPC. It reduced the actual growth of the program. That program will be distributed equally across the country.

We also have other programs aimed at helping poor children in this country. One of them is the aboriginal head start program. We have the prenatal nutrition program and the brighter futures program. All of these programs come into play as well.

Fifteen thousand Canadians suffer from multiple sclerosis. In the U.S., the drug Betaseron has been used to treat MS for over a year. Betaseron is currently being reviewed by the health protection branch and can only be obtained under the emergency drug release program at a cost of over $17,000.

Can the minister provide information on when Betaseron will be made available to Canadian MS victims at a price they can afford?

Mr. Speaker, I am well aware of the needs of victims of multiple sclerosis.

Unfortunately, the manufacturers of Betaseron chose not to apply to have the drug approved here in Canada at the same time as they did in the U.S. When they did apply we fast tracked the approval of this drug. The price of this drug is quite high. It is under review at this time by the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Minister of the Environment stated in this House, when she answered a question on the refloating of the Irving Whale , and I quote: ``I just wanted to remind the hon. members that the first report proposing salvage measures was tabled in 1989 and rejected by the then Minister of the Environment''.

Later on, she also said about the Irving Whale : ``six years after the first report was presented to the former environment minister-the hon. member for Lac-Saint-Jean''.

Mr. Speaker, the fact is that I resigned as environment minister in May 1990 and that the report mentioned by the minister was tabled in September 1990. Her statement is therefore totally false and inaccurate.

My colleagues, I do not think I heard everything the hon. Leader of the Opposition said, but if the word "lie" was indeed used, I would urge the hon. Leader of the Opposition to reconsider the use of that word.

Mr. Speaker, what happened yesterday is even more serious. It is so because I submit to the Chair that this inaccuracy was stated on purpose. The minister had the report in front of her at the time, and it indicates the date I just gave.

Moreover, the question was asked by one of her Liberal colleagues, the hon. member for Brome-Missisquoi, who, as a courteous man, certainly served notice of his question to the minister. She knew what to expect and she was able to prepare an answer.

A third point is even more serious than this. The minister altered the official report so that today, Hansard does not contain the words she used yesterday. According to Beauchesne, and more particularly citation 1117, no member is allowed to alter Hansard the way the minister did yesterday after the blues came out.

If you compare the blues and Hansard , you will notice that two substantive corrections were made, so that the words which were so injurious to me yesterday as a member of this House in front of the TV cameras and everybody, while the minister scored political points by heaping ridicule on me and making me look like an irresponsible minister, no longer appear in Hansard today. Therefore, those injurious remarks made publicly yesterday in this House, in front of the TV cameras, must be corrected today in a immediate public statement including apologies by the minister.